Melanie Richards
by BleuCade
Summary: Melanie, friend to our favorite greaser gang, befriends not only her own kind but Socs as well... and it might get her into a bit of trouble later on... please R&R!
1. Chapter One

A/N: Yay! I've started another story! At first I was going to wait until I've actually finished it before posting, but Crimson (read her stuff! She's great!) convinced me to post it =P so yeah I hope you all like it!! I only own Melanie, her mother, Nate, Ed, Molly, Molly's shop… I think that's like all… yeah…heh! Enjoy!

!~*Chapter One*~!

Flapping my golden brown hair against the wind, I ran. I ran up hills, down slopes, through the long grass of the prairie and the hard asphalt of the streets. I stopped, breathless and hunched over, and made a mental note never to wear tight jeans again.  
        I slowly straightened up, clutching my side in pain and looked around heavily. I was near good-looking stores, with expensive looking cars parked on the newly paved streets. The people were dressed up in really nice clothes, and I shuddered. I was close to the rich side of town, which meant I had run at least six or seven miles.

        I quickly scanned for a clothing store, and luckily there was one really close by. I hesitantly opened the door, glancing half-heartedly up at the sign that read, "Molly's Material ~ Dressy, Casual, Sportswear."

        I browsed a bit, looking at the cute shirts and casting an evil eye at the dresses and skirts. I gave a small smile as I remember my mother trying to force me to wear dresses as a kid... out of all the times she attempted, she succeeded maybe twice.  
        I quickly bought a pair of short running shorts, a tank top and a sports bra. The lady gave me a once-over and her cheerful expression faltered before handing me my clothes – probably wondering what in the devil I was thinking wearing jeans and a T-shirt covered absolutely in sweat. I gave her a small smile in return and handed her a ten from my pocket.

        Taking my bag of newly bought running gear, I hurried into the dressing room and changed. Peeling off my wet-with-body-fluid clothes, I stuffed them into the bag. If I was to run back the six to seven miles, I was definitely not going to wear jeans.  
        Slinging the bag onto my arm, I flung my hair back and put it up in a tight ponytail. I usually wear messy and loose, but I didn't want to stop every twenty seconds to fix it.

        Coming out of Molly's shop, I unwisely threw my old clothes into the trash. Hopefully mother and Ed wouldn't wonder where they went.  
        My body unconsciously gave a frigid shudder and my eyebrows narrowed as I stared at nothing. They were the reason I took off running. I don't even know my mother anymore. Fucking Ed had to ruin everything. I hated them both, I missed my father. It was all my mothers fault. Stupid Ed.

        I shook my head and held it in my hands, staring at the sidewalk. I scolded myself for acting like a child all the time. _You're sixteen Melanie! Act like it_! I ordered myself. I nodded, then looked around to see if it was safe to cross.  
        It was. I hurriedly waved to the person who stopped for me to move as I ran across the street, and they honked twice. I gave them a puzzled look, then realized it was one of the Socs I knew from school… his name was Nathan. He pulled over onto the curb and I stopped moving.  
        As Nate got out, the moonlight shone brightly and briefly on his royal blue eyes. I squinted and my heart did a leap. He grinned and leaned against his car.  
        "Hey, Mel, what are you doin on this side of town? Do you visit here often at 9:00 at night?"

        Most... greasers... don't get this kind of greeting. I asked all my friends about it, and Two-Bit told me that it was because I was 'fucking gorgeous.' Soda laughed and added that I was the nicest person he knew, and Dally breathed into his cigarette and patted me on the back, claiming that I didn't take shit from anyone, except for maybe himself. Steve said it was a deadly and loveable combination. I just shrugged and laughed.  
        "Family troubles caused me to split, and I ran all the way here," I laughed and added, "I wanted to buy more comfortable clothes for running back home."

        He looked me up and down and I felt my face turn a little pinker. I silently prayed he'd think it was make-up.

        "I'm sorry about your family… Hey did you wanna stop by my place for a little bit? My parents are out and my little brother's at a friends…" he trailed off and gave me a wink, grinning.  
        I smirked and playfully hit his arm. "You wish Nate!" I giggled, then added, "Maybe I would, but I gotta get back home… The last thing I need now is them calling the fuzz on me."

        Nate looked a bit disappointed, but he nodded. "Well, can I at least drive you home?" I raised an eyebrow and he laughed. "To YOUR home, and I promise no where else."

        I shrugged. "Okay, well, a ride would be nice… could you drop me off a couple miles from home then? I wanna get a few more miles in my workout today."

        "Damn Melanie, you have a hot body already. I'll drive you the whole way, you don't need anymore miles."

        I blushed again and smiled. "Okay Nate."

        He grinned and opened the car door for me, then ran around the car to his side and started the engine. He put his arm around the back of my seat and we sped off towards Greaser Country.

        We drove in silence for a while, when he abruptly said, "Hey, Mel, why don't we go out sometime? I'd love to take you out."  
        I whirled my head around to face him, shocked. "Are you serious?"

        Nate shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"  
        "Because I'm a greaser and you're a Soc!"

        Nate removed his arm and used both hands on the steering wheel to turn the corner and into my driveway. He turned off the engine and laid back in his seat, facing me. "I know, but I'm startin' to really like you Mel."

        "Nate you KNOW all the shit that would put us through if we started dating… I'm sure your parents and our friends would disagree and raise hell."

        Nate looked half confused and half irritated. "What, are you saying my parents would do something?"

I sighed and looked at the seat cushions. They were so much nicer than what I'm used to, I thought, tracing the stitching up and down. "No, Nate, I just meant that out of both of our parents yours are the only ones who… I don't know… care about you. Mine don't give a rats ass about me, I don't think they'd know when my birthday is let alone who I'm dating."

Nate instantly softened and lifted my chin up so my eyes would gaze into his. "I'm sorry Mel, I didn't mean to sound so angry… I guess you're right though; it would tear our relationship apart if everyone knew we were dating. We'll stay friends though, right?" he looked at me with pleading eyes.

        I smiled. "Of course!"

        He grinned back and leaned towards me. I closed my eyes and felt his lips against mine. He scooted closer so his chest pressed against mine.

Suddenly a bright light flickered on and I quickly opened my eyes. Looking in between Nate's head and shoulder, I saw Ed with Rover, our dog, walking down the path from our house to the driveway.

"Nate!" I groaned, "Get us out of here!"

He got off of me, started the engine and sped out of the driveway. My step-father's footsteps got louder and more frequent as he started running towards the car, shaking his fist at us and yelling obscenities such as, "Who the hell are you? Why are you in my goddamn driveway?! Get out of here fuckers!"

I thanked God he didn't recognize me.

"Where are we going?" he asked, and I pointed to a house down the street. "If you could drop me off there that would be great!"

His grin from making out with me in his car faltered a bit, the probable cause being that I didn't suggest his house. He pulled into the driveway and looked at me expectantly. I smiled at him, leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He ruffled me hair and I thanked him for everything. I quickly opened the door and got out of the car, slamming the door before rushing up to the house. 

I opened it without knocking, only because this was like my second home. Johnny and I, one of my friends, probably spend more time here than our own homes.  
        I gazed lovingly at the chairs, tables and sofa in the living room I was standing in. I could feel all the love and friendship radiating off of everything… this was truly my home.  
        "Hey Mel, you gonna buy anything or just stare?" I heard the comedic voice and chuckle of Two-Bit carry through the house from the kitchen.  
        I skipped into the next room and found the eighteen-year-old sitting at the table facing me, grinning and eating a cookie. Seven more could be found lying on a napkin on the table.  
        "Stocking up on the sweets, huh Two-Bit?" I joked, grabbing a cookie and ruffling his hair. He grabbed my hand and pulled me on his lap.

"Hey, don't touch my cookies!" he playfully scolded, yanking it out of my hand and stuffing it in his mouth. He grinned a mouth full of crumbs at me and I laughed.  
        "Where's the Curtis'?" I asked, realizing he was the only one here.  
        He chewed the cookie vigorously and swallowed, wincing. "Hot damn that was a bigass cookie. I wonder who made those. Hmm they looked pretty normal so couldn't have been Soda; you know that he made green pancakes once? Jesus. I figure it was Darry, Ponyboy ain't much of a cook if you ask me."

I got up off of Two-Bit's lap and grabbed his face in mine. "Two-Bit, stop talking about cookies. Where's everyone?"

He grinned up at me and placed his hands on my wrists. "They're at Pony's last track meet, doll. It's just you and me here. Hey!" he suddenly said, taking one hand away from my arm and cupping his ear, "What's that? I think I hear the bed calling us, Mel, can't you?"

I tried my best to keep a straight face and pretended to listen hard. "Oh my goodness Two-Bit! I think you're right! But that isn't the bed calling, it's the toilet! How many damn cookies did you eat?"

He burst out laughing and smacked my butt. "You're a funny one Melanie. But seriously, come on," he grabbed my arm and threw me on the couch in the living room, "LET'S GET BUSY!" he yelled, jumping on top of me and doing obscene motions.  
        "TWO-BIT! Oh God my virgin eyes!" I screamed, covering my eyes with my hands and laughing.  
        He stopped moving and gave me his trademark grin and kissed my lips lightly. "You know I love you Mel," he chuckled. 

He got up and pretended to dust off his legs. "Mel!" he groaned, "You got me dirrrrrty!" he grinned again, drawing out the 'r.'

I laughed and shoved his chest. "So, where are Steve and Dally and Johnny at tonight?"

He pursed his lips together and frowned. "Hmm good question. I'm bettin' Johnny went to the track meet too. Dally's probably at Tim's or Buck's, and I know for a fact that Steve is out with Evie at the drive-in."

"Neat. So what you been up to today? How come you're here all alone?"

"I tried to pick up some girls at Buck's today, since me and Cathy split last week, but before I got too into it their boyfriends came around so I left." He grinned and added, "I came because I knew you'd probably be by and I didn't want you to be lonely," he gave me a puppy dog look and traced a finger up my arm.

I laid my head against his chest and he played with my hair. "You're so good to me Two-Bit," I laughed.

"Hey, I try baby."

We sat on the couch flipping channels for a while. I was just about to put on Mickey Mouse when the screen door flew open and I nearly jumped a mile in the air. Ponyboy came running in yelling and grinning so wide I thought his ears would pop off.

"Jesus Pony! I nearly peed myself!" I shouted, however I was laughing at the scene he was making.

He turned to me with that huge smile on and threw open his arms for a hug. "I WON ALL MY RACES!"

I flew off the couch and smothered him in a big hug. "Pony that's terrific! If I would have known you had a meet today I would have gone!"

We both pulled away and he sank onto the couch next to Two-Bit, telling him every detail, from what races he ran to how many times he ended up lacing up his shoes. I giggled, and turned to the door as it swung open again and Soda and Darry entered.

"Hey Soda! Hi Darry!" I gave them both a hug. "Pony said he won the races!"

Darry's eyes were full of pride. "Hell yeah, he sure did! You should have seen him, he was so fast-"

As I listened to him tell me all about his little brother, I turned my gaze to Soda briefly and he gave a wink. I grinned at him, then looked at Darry again. I was so happy Pony and Darry had a better relationship. Before that whole terrifying ordeal with Johnny killing that Soc and him and Pony running off to Jay's mountain after Darry hit him, I could just feel the tension between them. Darry was too hard and Pony was… a teenager. He couldn't help it, and neither could Darry. They both didn't want any more deaths, what with they're parents and all. We nearly lost Johnny and Dally too. It was the scariest time of my whole life; I went to bed crying every day. I even slept once in Pony's bed next to Soda because I missed him so much.

"He reminds me of you, Mel, with that incredible stamina you have!"

I jerked out of the memories just in time to hear Darry finish up talking about Pony to direct the conversation at me. "Oh, yeah! Thanks Darry! Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he beat my old track record next year!"

He grinned, patted my shoulder and excused himself. "Alright gang, it's well past 11. Pony, Soda, get your butts in bed!"

Pony scowled at Darry, and Darry stuck his tongue out at him. Grinning, Soda ushered his brother upstairs and they both yelled goodbyes to me and Two-Bit. We shouted after they're retreating figures and Darry, who had picked up the paper and was reading in his favorite chair, then started heading out the door.

"I'll walk you home, Mel, just in case you changed your mind or something," Two-Bit awkwardly offered, and I accepted. I knew what he meant. 'Just in case you didn't wanna deal with your parents, then you could stay at my house.'


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, and Mr. Henrietta (It'll make sense later on hahaha).

Thanks DallysGirL4Life

-Please guys PLEASE review, you know I'll love you forever!=)  
-But please no flames because it'll hurt my feelings and that's just mean. Constructive criticism is welcome; I'd love to hear your ideas on how to make this better!   
-Hey and I have the whole plot worked out and six chapters total finished, I just want to wait until I have some reviews before posting!!! -Hehe hope you like it! =D

!~*Chapter Two*~!

        I glumly opened the door as carefully as I could, incase they were sleeping. "Hold on," I mouthed to Two-Bit, and he nodded and leaned against the side of the house next to the door.

        I stealthily crept inside, avoiding obstacles like the sofa and end tables to get to the stairs. Alas, I didn't get more than five steps when the living room was suddenly overcome with a flood of light; I was hit with it so violently I was almost knocked askew. 

        "Welcome. Home." My mother growled in fake greeting, sitting on the couch, one hand directed towards the light standing on the end table. Her fingers were still tightly woven around the cord that turns it on.

        "Hi mom," I answered stiffly.

_"Mom!" I shrieked, and jumped into her outstretched arms, "I missed you so much!"_

_My mother laughed her gentle laugh. "Oh Mellie you were only gone away at camp for two weeks!"  
        "I don't care! I still missed you a ton! Did you get my letters?"  
        My mom swung me around. "Every single one!" she smiled at me and tapped my nose lightly. "I love you sugar pie."_

_"I love you too mommy."_

"WELL?" she practically screamed. I had a feeling she had said something before.

I stared at her, unmoving, cold, without feeling. I won't let her get to me. I refuse.

"What the fuck is with all the GODDAMN YELLING?" Ed shouted, thumping down the stairs holding his balding head with one hand, the other trailing down the banister. I involuntarily smirked at his apparel; a plaid black and green bathrobe and white slippers.

"You think my outfit is funny Melanie?" my stepfather sneered, removing his hand from his oversized head. My mother remained on the couch, half smirking. But as I glanced into her eyes, they didn't look cold. They looked fearful.

I didn't care. She wasn't getting forgiveness from me, if that's what she wanted.

"Maybe I do, _Ed."_

"Well at least I don't run around dressed as some fucking whore," he spat at me.  
        My mouth swung open and I stared at him in disbelief. I heard my mom utter a small, nearly inaudible gasp which I figured Ed didn't hear because he acted like he didn't.

"You. Fucking. BASTARD!" I screamed, unable to control myself. I gave him the finger and ran out of the house.

I slammed the door behind me and stood motionless, staring at the concrete that made up the doorway. That was the last straw; I am never going back to my parents again. No matter what, I would never step foot inside this house. Even to get my stuff.

I made a mental note never to throw out clothes again.

Tears started to well up in my eyes despite my attempts to keep them back. I didn't want them to get to me, I had to stop crying. God Melanie, I thought, can't you ever fucking contain yourself? Stop acting like a child!

But another little voice inside my head stated, _but I am one…_

I let out a pretty large sob and slumped against the house. It felt a bit lumpy… it said, "Come on, Mel, I'll take you to my place."

Oh. Oh yeah. Two-Bit was still waiting for me.

"Okay Two-Bit," I tried to say, but it came out as sobs. I buried my face in his chest and he stroked my head and my back.  
        "Shhh… Mel it's okay… I'm here, I won't ever leave you. Ever. No matter how much you want me to leave, I will always be here for you, doll."

He lifted my face in his hands. "Okay Mel? I love you. Don't you forget that okay? No matter what I'll always love you."

I started to cry harder, but a smile invaded my face and pushed away the frown. "I love you too, Two-Bit. Thank you for everything."

We pulled away from one another and he planted an arm across my shoulders as we started the walk to his house, which was only about a block away.  
        Two-Bit is such an amazing person… I was in hysterics at my place, and when I came to his place I was full of laughter. He can make a person pass out from laughing so much.

"No way!" I choked out, "He did that?"

He tried to contain himself as he replied, "Hell yeah! I remember when we were little, Dally NEVER went anywhere without his teddy!"

I was crying again. But this time it was from laughter and sheer happiness from being with Two-Bit.

"Oh God, that's hilarious! When did he grow out of THAT phase?"

He smirked. "I hear he still has 'Mr. Henrietta' to this day!"

"MR. HENRIETTA! WHAT KIND OF CRACKPOT CAME UP WITH THAT?" I howled with laugher, collapsing onto his doorway.

"The crackpot who owned him," a voice behind us said.  
        "Oh. Shit." Two-Bit murmured, slowly turning around.

"I see you've been spilling my secrets, KEITH." Dally roared, removing the cigarette from his mouth temporarily to spit out the name Two-Bit was born with.

"No, Dally, you gotta understand, I wouldn't do it normally, it was just-"

"It was just what? You ran out of those half-assed jokes you always tell? You needed new material?" Dally growled.

"No! Dallas, see-"

"All I see here is you telling Mel," he shot me a grin and a wink, tracing his eyes up and down my body, "about my childish habits."

"DALLY!" Two-Bit bellowed

"WHAT?" Dallas shot back just as loud.

"MEL WAS CRYING!"

I suddenly felt bad when Dally's cigarette fell to the ground and he suddenly looked really small. He glanced at me. "This true?"

I looked away, pursed my lips and nodded.

They both came around by me and sat down on either side. "What happened?"

"My parents are dicks." I replied harshly. My own brutality at my parents surprised me, and I quickly filled Dallas in on everything that happened.  
        He withdrew another cigarette from his leather jacket pocket, lit up and took a long drag before answering. "Damn baby, that's some really harsh shit." He inhaled the cigarette again. "You? Whore? Hell no… they must have the wrong person. Ain't you still a virgin anyways?"

I punched his shoulder. "Yeah, what if I am?"

"Ain't you seventeen now baby?"

"She's sixteen," Two-Bit cut in before I could correct Dallas.

"Thanks, at least SOMEBODY knows something about me!" I huffed at Dallas.  
        He gave me a sideways grin, threw his second cigarette away and kissed my cheek gently. Then he suddenly ran his tongue over my jaw line and cupped my face in his hands.

"Dally get the hell off her!" Two-Bit yelled, trying to pry him off me.

"Aww buzz off Two-Bit she likes it," he glanced at me with his tongue sticking out. I was laughing, yeah I enjoyed it. Who wouldn't?

As I was in mid laugh Dally stuck his tongue in my mouth and forced me down backwards onto the doorway.

"Come on Dally, leave some for me!" Two-Bit playfully protested.

Dally pulled away from my lips but stayed hunched on top of me and gazed up at Two-Bit and laughed. "Gang bang!" he yelled, and laughed.

I laughed again, knowing they were kidding. I'm their best friend, they wouldn't really do all that stuff.

Dally got up, smirking, and lifted me up as well. I punched Dally's shoulder and grinned at Two-Bit. "Gang Bang my ass!"

Dally winked at me and slapped Two-Bit on the back. "Well, I'd better get goin'. Nice fuc- I mean seeing you, Mel. Later Two-Bit!"

Two-Bit and I said our goodbyes and walked into the house. Now it was well over midnight, closer to 1:00.

"Two-Bit, can we go to bed?"

He smirked at me for a while until I realized what I had just said. "You know what I mean!" I laughed.

Two-Bit gave me a wink and led me to his bedroom. Looking down at my attire, I asked Two-Bit if I could borrow a T-shirt. He threw me a plain white one from his closet, and settled down under the covers. He lifted them up and beckoned for me to get in next to him. I did, and he wrapped the blankets and his arms around me.

"Hey Mel?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah Two-Bit?" I asked, my voice muffled against the bare of his chest.

"Do you like Dally?"

"Of course I like Dally. I love you all!"

"No, not like that… I mean… you know."

I sat up a little and Two-Bit balanced his head in his hand, propped up with his elbow.

"No I don't, Two-Bit. Not like that."

"Do you have any love interest right now?" he asked slyly.

I did. Of course I loved Two-Bit… I've loved him for as long as I can remember. He's always been there for me, whether I needed him or if I didn't. He was the first boy to ever hit on me, or kiss me.

But I was growing fond of Nate too… I know it's a doomed relationship but I can't help thinking about him every so often. I remembered that we agreed to keep the relationship a secret, and I knew that all my friends would freak if I ever hooked up with a Soc.

"As a matter of fact I do," I replied, tracing a finger up his arm like he did mine at the Curtis' a few hours before. "And do you?"

"Yeah. This girl is everything I ever wanted, and more than I expected."

"Tell me about this girl," I asked politely, leaning more towards Two-Bit.

He stroked my cheek and continued, "She's hot as hell, not to mention pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, sexy. She's smart, she's kind, and she's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. She makes friends with just about anybody, but she doesn't take shit from people.

"You wanna know her name?"

I closed my eyes and leaned into Two-Bit's loving touch racing up and down my face. "Yeah," I murmured.

I felt him lean closer to me. I felt his lips on my ear. His breath made chills run down my spine.

"Melanie Anne Richards."


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed and I 'borrowed' Emma. Hahahaha.

Thanks 

-Please PLEASE review, you know I'll love you forever! 3 =)  
-But please no flames because it'll hurt my feelings and that's just mean. =P Constructive criticism is welcome; I'd love to hear your ideas on how to make this better!   
-Hey and I have the whole plot worked out and six chapters total finished, I just want to wait until I have some reviews before posting!!! -Hehe hope you like it! =D

!~*Chapter Three*~!

I woke up to find Two-Bit sprawled on top of me, with his arm draped around the side of my waist and his face in my chest.

I cleared my throat loudly and Two-Bit stirred and murmured something.

"Nice dream?" I asked.

He grinned widely and nodded, pressing himself against me.

"Two-Bit!" I laughed, pushing him off, "You pervert!"

"Hey I can't help what I dream," he chuckled and sat up, rubbing his eyes and stretching out his arms.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked, throwing the covers aside as I got out of bed.

"Uh, school baby. It's Monday!"

"Ohh SHIT!" I wanted to yell, but decided on growling. "I don't have any clothes to wear! Shit shit shit!"

"Go back home and get some, aren't both your parents at work now?"

I groaned, remembering the promise I made yesterday. "I suppose so, but this is the last time ever I step foot into that house."

I looked around Two-Bit's room for a clock. "Hey, what time is it?"

"I dunno, there's one in the kitchen. Let's go get breakfast, I'm starving!"

"Didn't you have dinner?"

"The cookies were my dinner," he replied, grinning and ruffling his hair. He too got out of the bed and threw on a shirt that was lying on the ground.

We both exited the room and entered the hallway that lead to any room of the house. We followed the path to the kitchen, and sat down on the hard wood chairs facing the aging wood of the table.

Two-Bit's mom, God bless her, already had breakfast ready for both of us. Scrambled eggs and toast. 

I got up from the table and gave Mrs. Mathews a hug. "Thank you so much for breakfast!"

She warmly returned the embrace and replied, "Oh Melanie you're welcome! You're like a daughter to me!"

"Awwww isn't that sweet!" Two-Bit said, wiping an imaginary tear from his face. He got two slaps from the back of my hand and the dishtowel Mrs. Mathews was using to dry dishes with.

Just then Two-Bit's sister bounced into the room and sat down across from me and next to Two-Bit. Stacey had just turned 10 last month, yet looked about seven.

"Hi Stacey!" I said, smiling.

"Hi Melanie!" She cried, helping herself to eggs, "So, are you and my brother going out now? You guys spend a lot of time together."

"What, would you think I was going out with Sodapop if he spent a lot of time here?"

"Noooo!" Stacey shrieked.

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow at her, and when she wasn't looking he gave me a wink. I giggled softly and finished up my breakfast. 

Two-Bit and I finished at about the same time, so we emptied our dishes in the sink, thanked Mrs. Mathews and hurried out the door. We had to be quick if we were to make my house before going to school.

Two-Bit nonchalantly pulled into my driveway and turned off the engine. We both hopped out of the car and I lifted up the "Welcome" mat and took the spare key to unlock the door. I sniggered at the mat, like anyone was going to be welcomed here.

Two-Bit spoke correctly; no one was to be found at my home. We dashed upstairs and into my bedroom, where I hastily threw my favorite outfits, gadgets and necessities into a large duffle bag. I also grabbed my savings, hid away in my sock drawer and threw that in too. 

I frowned, remembering the amount of money I though I had and received the envelope from my bag. I opened it up and found out that there wasn't that much in there. I sighed. I guess I had to get a job.

"That's a nice bed," Two-Bit observed, touching the sheets and glancing at me, winking.

"Yeah it sure is. Comfy too." I said, smirking back.

He casually laid down on my bed and patted the space next to him. I slid next to him and he wrapped his arms around me.

"You can stay at my house for as long as you like," he whispered into my hair. "I enjoy your company."

"Yeah, in your bed!" I laughed at him and he looked down at me with dancing grey eyes.  

Without warning he swooped down his head and planted his lips against mine. I involuntarily let out a groan, which allowed him to slip his tongue in past my lips and into my mouth.

It was so blissful; I didn't want it to end. I suspect it would have taken us well into the night if my stepfather hadn't banged on my bedroom door.

"MELANIE? ARE YOU IN THIS GODDAMN ROOM?"

Two-Bit bolted up so fast and his eyes were so wide I was tempted to laugh.

Suddenly the door flung open and an angry, red faced Ed dressed in his best suit was staring madly at both of us. Almost automatically his face turned from furious to shocked to enraged again, and I could guess why. Both of our hair was messed up and Two-Bit was hunched on top of me.

Two-Bit leaped up, grabbed my duffle bag and hoisted me off the bed.

"I KNEW IT!" Ed shouted, throwing his fist into the air, "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DIRTY WHORE!"

Two-Bit's face contorted with anger and he threw a punch that knocked Ed back into the hallway. "Melanie is not a whore! She's only had sex with me!" he yelled, and started laughing at Ed's bewildered face.

I grabbed Two-Bit's hand and we both started running down the stairs and out of the house, into his car. We made record time hauling ass out of that driveway, let me tell you!

Once we were a few blocks away from my house I started laughing. Two-Bit joined in and soon we were both laughing like a pair of idiots driving down the road.

"Well, Two-Bit, thanks for sticking up for me…" I trailed off, remembering what he said.

He grinned widely, stroked my knee and raised his eyebrows suggestively. I swatted his hand away, giggling and sat back into the cushions of his car.

"You know," Two-Bit started after a while of listening to the radio, "I really don't feel like going to school today." He glanced at the clock and added, "Besides, we'd only have a couple hours left."

"Two-Bit, I couldn't agree more. Let's stop by the DX and see what's up with Soda and Steve!"

Two-Bit turned a sharp right, narrowly missing the turn for the DX. "Two-Bit!" I yelled, holding on for dear life, "You better stop taking driving lessons from Dally!"

He just laughed and pulled into the DX. I saw Soda and Steve behind the register, crowded by a flock of people. Surprisingly, there was only a minority of girls staring at Soda. Must be a pretty busy day!

Two-Bit and I got out of the car and wandered over to where Soda and Steve were busy retrieving oil or cigarettes for all these customers. Soda was looking flushed and Steve looked ready to blow if one more client pissed him off.

"Soda! Steve!" I yelled, and they both turned towards me, "Need some help?"

"WE SURE AS HELL DO!" Steve shouted, shoving two packs of cigarettes into some fat guy's hand.

"Melanie, if it ain't too much trouble can you help pump some gas for those people over there?" Soda asked, pointing to a car over to our right.

"No problem, Sodapop," I replied, and Steve asked Two-Bit for his assistance with something.

I walked over to the car and saw a middle aged woman and her teenage daughter in their car. The girl looked fourteen or fifteen, with hair to rival Soda's. By the looks of her she was pretty shy, but that didn't stop me.

Her window was rolled down, so I stuck my hand through. "Hey, my name is Melanie."

She gave me a smile and placed her hand in mine. "Hi, I'm Emma."

I grinned and got the gas pump, and as I was looking for the gas flap, I replied, "Nice you meet you Emma, you two new around here?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "I live past that street," she pointed down the road, "and then from there you turn right. It's a big white house next to a grayish blue one."

Opening the gas flap, I imagined her directions. "Hey!" I yelled, "My best friends live in the grayish blue one!"

Her expression brightened. "Really? What're their names?"

"Darry, Soda and Ponyboy Curtis. Darry's a big guy, he's outta school. Soda dropped out in order to help get some money; he's nearly seventeen. And Ponyboy is almost fifteen, he goes to school still. They're all a really nice bunch, you'll make friends with them easily."

She smiled. "Hey, I guess moving here wasn't so bad after all. Say, do you live nearby?"

I frowned, remembering my house. "Um, kind of. I never really go home, I hang out either at the Curtis' or at Two-Bit's," I pointed to Two-Bit just as he spilt a container of oil over the floor, "another one of my best friends."

"Cool! I guess I'll be seeing you around then!"

"I hope so!" I finished filling up the tank and withdrew the nozzle from the gas container and put it back on the hook. As the car drove away, I yelled, "Where did you move here from?"

"New Zealand!" was the shouted reply I got.

New Zealand? Hmm... I thought, trying to envision a map in my brain. Oh yeah, it's near Australia!

Two-Bit and I stayed for another couple hours helping Soda and Steve with the store. Within that couple of hours I gave Steve a back rub to calm his nerves, smacked Two-Bit across the head for spilling his fourth can of oil, shooed a crowd of girls away from Soda, filled seventeen cars up with gas and sold fifteen packs of cigarettes.

I was filthy. I was full of gas and oil and smelled like shit. Good thing I didn't smoke, or else I probably would have set myself on fire.

I looked down my front in disgust and suddenly felt embarrassed. I was still wearing the clothes I had slept in, which consisted in my short, tight running shorts and Two-Bit's T-shirt.

"Oh my gosh, Two-Bit!" I cried nervously, walking over to him, wringing my hands in nervousness.

He looked up from checking under the hood of a car, looking for defaults. "Yeah babe?"

I gestured to my chest, pinching at his T-shirt. "I'm um really sorry!"

"What are you sorry about, babe? I'm satisfied with 'em."

I narrowed my eyebrows. "You mean it's okay?"

"Uh, why wouldn't it be okay?"

"Because I got it dirty!"  
        He raised his eyebrows so high they disappeared in his hair. "You got… what… dirty?"

I looked at him, incredulously. "Your T-shirt!"

His mouth opened slightly and stared at me, then started laughing. He stood up straight, careful to not hit his head on the upraised hood of the car, slammed it down and leaned against the exterior, wiping off his hands with a towel, still chuckling. "You mean you were talking about the shirt this whole time?"

I started at him in disbelief again. "What else would I be talking about?!"

"Your…things."

"My things?"

"Your boobs." He grinned at me widely

"MY BOOBS?" I yelled, smirking.

I saw Steve turn and look up at me from behind the register. He raised an eyebrow and started laughing.

"My boobs?" I repeated a little more quietly, moving towards Two-Bit, "What would make you think of my boobs?"

He looked away, laughing and fidgeting with his towel. He closed the hood of the car and placed both hands on it, propping up himself and leaning backwards.

"What're you talkin' bout Mel? He always thinks about your boobs!" I heard Soda yell and laugh hysterically. Two-Bit bunched up the towel and threw it at Soda who was a couple feet away, and hit him square in the chest. Soda chuckled and tossed it back to him, retreating to the register.

He grinned up at me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry about the shirt, doll," he said, "keep it."

I pressed up against him and sank into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. "You're so good to me, Two-Bit," I grinned against his cotton T-shirt as he laughed and stroked my lower back.

"Hey, I try baby."


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed and I 'borrowed' Emma. Hahahaha.

Thanks 

-Please PLEASE review, you know I'll love you forever! 3 =)  
-But please no flames because it'll hurt my feelings and that's just mean. =P Constructive criticism is welcome; I'd love to hear your ideas on how to make this better!   
-Hey and I have the whole plot worked out and six chapters total finished, I just want to wait until I have some reviews before posting!!! -Hehe hope you like it! =D

!~*Chapter Four*~!

        Don't get me wrong, I love helping out the gang at whatever they need help with. But working for that long at the DX when I wasn't even getting paid was serious torture.

        I was so happy to finally get out of there! I told Two-Bit I was gonna stop by Emma's house to get to know her better and he made me promise that I was sleep at his house again tonight. Of course I agreed! I loved spending my nights with Two-Bit Mathews…

        I light-headedly replayed the scene from my bedroom in my mind; where Two-Bit punched my stepfather before uttering that I had sex with him. Does he want to have sex with me? Yeah, sure, he talked dirty to me and Steve once let on that Two-Bit was rubbing up against a pole moaning my name, but still… I wondered if he REALLY wanted to.

        I giggled and turned the street and headed towards the Curtis residence and Emma's new house. I unconsciously ran my fingers over the prospering appealing flowers that grew in the front yards of run down houses. I toyed with the petals, feeling the smoothness beneath my fingers.

        I was suddenly grabbed from behind and uttered a piercing scream. "Scared?" I heard the rough voice of a rough hood, followed by macabre laughter.

        "TIM! I HATE YOU!" I yelled, hitting his arms, which were entwined around my waist.

        "Awww play nice now, kitty cat," he purred into my hair.

        "If you don't let go of kitty cat then kitty cat is going to recoil and smack the family jewels," I replied sweetly, kissing his cheek.

        He groaned and let go of me. Straightening up, I glared at Tim in a teasing way. He never changed. Still had that black greasy hair, that cold demeanor... I don't think he could help it anymore. Most hoods and greasers try to be as tough and cold as they can, but with Tim it just comes as naturally to him as brushing his teeth. No, wait, bad example. It comes as naturally to him as it is to breathe. It's just this constant thing.

        "So what are you up to, you good-for-nothing hood?" I grinned and ducked a fake punch he threw at me.

        "None of your business, grease," he retorted, smirking at me. "Lookin' for people to jump, ladies to seduce," he trailed off and eyed me hungrily. "So, baby, what are you doin'?"

        "Hey, lay off buddy," I held out my hands in front of me, "I think I'm already taken."

        Tim frowned, furrowing his eyebrows and crossed his arms. Clicking his tongue, he asked, "Oh yeah? Who's the lucky guy?"

        I smiled and shrugged happily. "I don't think I wanna tell you," I giggled, wondering if indeed I was taken off the market.

        "Yeah? Why the fuck not? Afraid I might beat his head in?" Tim smirked, walking behind me and placing his hands on either side of my neck, grasping my shoulders. He pulled my long golden brown hair behind me so I could feel his hot breath on my neck. Kissing my ear and cheek, he added, "Maybe you shouldn't tell me."

        I grinned and patted his head, which didn't twist my arm too much because his chin was balanced on top of my shoulder.

        He sighed, straightened up and turned me around to look him head on. "You know, if you weren't who you are…" he looked away, his face scrunched up. It looked like he was arguing with himself on the inside; it was kind of strange to watch.

        "Tim?" I asked, uncertainly. I had a feeling we weren't joking around anymore.

        He turned back to me and smiled weakly. "I could never do it," he finally said, "I could never do it."

        I squinted my eyes at him, wondering what in the world he was talking about. "Do what?"

        He stared angrily at the ground, looking like he regretted everything he mentioned so forth. "Nothing, nothing," he snapped hastily, then softened. Running his hands through his hair, he glanced around. "Look, Mel, I gotta go. I'll talk you later okay?" He sighed again and sauntered off quickly.

        I stood there, glued to the spot. What on earth was he talking about? I rubbed my forehead mystified, replaying the scene that had just occurred moments before… _"I could never do it… I could never do it."  _

"What does it MEAN?" I yelled, then stared around, embarrassed, that I had let my thoughts go out of control.

I instantly turned red as I saw Ponyboy laughing at me from atop his porch. I jogged over to him and punched him lightly in the gut, laughing.

"I swear, Ponyboy, I ain't psychotic," I said grinning, ruffling up his tough light brown, almost red hair. He smiled up at me and asked, "What are you doin' over here?"

"What, I can't take a little walk without being interrogated?"

"I'm just wonderin', Mel, keep your hair on."

I smirked at him and leaned sideways against his house. "I came over to talk to your neighbor, Emma."

"We have a neighbor?" he asked, curiously.

"I think you need to step foot outside more often, Pony. Hell yeah you have a neighbor, I met her while I was workin' at the DX with your brother and Steve."

"You work there now?"

"Nope. They needed a woman's help," I grinned and flexed my muscles as Pony gave me a small smile and a chuckle.

I opened my mouth in mock astonishment. "What, you think I'm kidding? You think I'm not tough? I'LL SHOW YOU, CURTIS!" I yelled and tackled him to the porch.

He started laughing as I lightly slapped him across the face. "Uncle!" he hollered, and I cried, "What, now you callin' me a man? Where are your manners?"

He laughed harder as I started tickling his ribs. "Melanie!" he half screamed, half laughed, "I'll pee myself!" 

I grinned and laughed, getting up and gave Pony an outstretched hand. He grabbed it and I hoisted him up, ruffling his hair. "Okay, I'm goin' over to Emma's now. Say," I said, studying Ponyboy, "you wanna come? She's about your age you know. I reckon you two can become friends!"

He gave me a look as I raised my eyebrows suggestively at the word 'friends.' "Alright, alright I'll come… What she look like?"

I giggled and hopped off of his porch. "You gotta come and see, scout!"

We walked silently together, his hands jammed into his pockets, staring at the cracks in the sidewalks and me, gallantly trotting towards Emma's house.

Pony chuckled. "Why do you walk like that?"

"Like what?" I asked, not missing a step.

"Like you're walking on air."

"Well why do you sulk walk like that? What is there to be sulking about?"

"Mel, all greasers walk like this," he grinned.

"Well maybe I want to be different!" I smiled, noticing that we had arrived.

I skipped up the steps onto her rather nice white porch, complete with a swinging bench partly hidden near the side of the house and a pot of flowers that bloomed rather nicely against the beating sun. 

I raised my fist to the crème colored door and knocked forcefully three times. The door swung open, and there stood Emma; her appearance was different from when I last saw her, her hair was all scrunched up with lots of bobby pins embedded deep within it, and her dark blue eyes instantly brightened when she caught sight of Ponyboy.

"Hi Emma! Are you doing anything right now? I was thinking maybe we could hang out… oh, and this is Ponyboy Curtis. Your new-"

"We're neighbors," Ponyboy smiled at her, putting out his hand and with his free arm elbowed me casually in the ribs, "Nice to meet you Emma."

She grinned back and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Ponyboy! I absolutely love your name!"

He grinned broadly at her remark; I knew he loved his name but most people thought it was weird. 

She turned her attention away from Ponyboy and directed it at me. "Oh, and I'm not busy. I'd love to accompany you two! Let me just run and tell my mother," she called, as she began running back in the house shouting for her mom. 

I turned to Ponyboy and grinned. "Friends yet?"

He playfully punched me and I ruffled his hair. "So, what do you think of her so far? Seriously?"

"She's real pretty," he thought, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face as he thought about her, "She seems really nice and stuff…" he trailed off as he saw my amused expression.

He didn't get a chance to hit me because Emma strolled out the door at that very moment. She gave us both a smile and locked the door behind her, and we all set off for a comfortable, serene, uneventful spot – the park.

Or so we thought.

Comfortable? It was for a while.

Serene? Not likely.

Uneventful? So much for THAT thought.


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed and I 'borrowed' Emma. Hahahaha.

okay. Did I mention that I totally love you people?! You're reviews are sooo nice and thoughtful!!! I feel like so mean I haven't thanked anyone! Let me make up for that RIGHT NOW!!! ;D

DallysGirl4Life – thank you so much for both of your reviews!! I'm trying to get back into writing since taking that two-week vacation! Hope my next chapters are as good! I'm really getting into "the girl on TV," I've almost finished it! EXCELLENT WORK, expect my review soon ;D!  
  
Crimson3 – lol you've always been there for me girl! Thank you so much for your great review, and keep on writing more of YOUR stories! I absolutely LOVE them and I miss reading them!! 3 you!!

Jaded Hailey – thanks a bundle!! lol like I said to DG4L, I'm really trying to get out of this two-week-non-writing slump haha! Expect more really soon!

MissLKid – LOL thank you for the tip! Hopefully Melanie realizes this before it's too late ;D! 

Siren Bloom – HEY THANKS!! ;D! I'm working on chapter six right now, expect me to post it soon!! 

ShyXshortieXbabe – oh gosh thank you very much!! It always makes me happy when people like my stories ;D! I've been trying pretty hard to get down Two-Bit's humor the way S.E. Hinton did.. I know I can never be that good but hey I can try right! ;D thank you so much again! That's what I've been hoping people notice and comment about, like if I'm portraying the characters in the correct way hehe

CrazeLilDreamer – Awww thank you so much! –tears up- so many people like my story, this makes me so happy lol! I always enjoy your reviews, I think you've reviewed every story I've written ;D much 3!

DrunkOffOfSoda – Love the name, gosh that's so true ;D I absolutely loved your review, thank you so much! I know, Two-Bit is my absolute favorite! LOL I'm glad you like my ideas!! I just write down whatever pops into my mind haha, I'm quirky like that ;D! 

Bess3 – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Yeah, I love having my created character friends with all the gang.. maybe to spice things up I'll write a story where there's conflict inside of the group as well as the outside ;D wow thanks for the idea! Haha! Heyy maybe I'll take up your offer for soda! I'll definitely mention you if that indeed happens ;D

Ella28 – Gosh I am so flattered! Thank you so much! ;D I only post one chapter at a time, I like reading the reviews I get ;D I think I post them all fairly quick… maybe not! lol! I apologize hehe, number 5 is on its way!! Enjoy! ;D

!~*Chapter Five*~!

        I fell into step behind Emma and Ponyboy, who were gallantly walking side by side, talking and laughing. I grinned at the sight of them; they were perfect. This whole scene was perfect. I thought keenly about Two-Bit and I, and curiously wondered if anyone had saw us together and stopped to say, 'wow, they sure look great together!'

        I giggled at the thought, and nearly screamed out in joy as I saw Two-Bit sitting precariously hunched over by the fountain, letting the cool mist from the falling water lightly kiss his face. He looked over, his eyes suddenly bright, recognizing my scream and nearly tumbling into the water.

Emma, Pony and I strolled over to him and took seats on the edge of the fountain. Pony quickly turned his back to me and Two-Bit, inoffensive of course; he wanted to give his full attention to Emma, who was telling him all about New Zealand. I was listening intently for a while, I was eager to learn how different it was from here. But I was interrupted close after she begun speaking by Two-Bit's hungry lips on mine. I squealed in half surprise, and half delight as he wrapped his arms around me.

        He must have been moving towards the left inch by inch, slowly, so I wouldn't notice because… I didn't. Until we both fell into the freezing cold water encircling the base of the fountain, that is.

        I screamed from the shock impact of the frigid water. "TWO-BIT MATHEWS!" I stuttered, hugging myself from the cold, "YOU AREN'T GETTING ANY TONIGHT!"

        I surprised myself with these words and burst out laughing at Two-Bit's flabbergasted façade. "You mean," he faltered, teeth chattering from the iciness as well, "you were gonna give me some?"

        I raised an eyebrow and lifted a leg over the edge of the fountain, half in and half out. "Well now we'll never know," I grinned seductively.

        Two-Bit looked half humorous, half furious at himself. "Oh come on, Melanie, don't be a cold fish now-"

        "You mention anything that relates to cold," I threatened, teeth chattering and body shaking, "I'll seriously hurt you."

        "Ice. Winter. Dairy Queen. Dallas' heart," Two-Bit recited, grinning, looking pleased with himself. "Now hurt me. Make me whimper. Make me beg for mercy."

        I laughed at him and looked down at myself. "GOD TWO-BIT!" I suddenly yelled at him, "THIS IS A WHITE T-SHIRT!"

        His mouth dropped to the ground and his eyes got all big. "Really?" he asked eagerly, skipping towards me and looking at my chest, "sweet!"

        I scrunched up my face, covered myself with my arms and kicked him in the shins. "Two-Bit! You pervert!"

        "Well, come on! What do you expect an eighteen year old guy to do when the love of his life says that she got drenched with a white T-shirt on?" he grinned at me and kissed my lips briefly, "now let's see what's up with the junior love birds," he added, ambling towards Emma and Ponyboy.

        I was just about to follow him when I heard two car honks and someone shout my name. "I'll be right there!" I called at them three, and ran over to the car that was parked at the side of the road.

        Nate jumped out of his dad's pick up and grinned at me. He had on a dirty outfit; oil stained jeans with a white T-shirt under a green flannel jacket. His light blonde hair had streaks of black that I could tell were unintentional, and it looked like his right arm was run over from the amount of dirt and oil.

        "Hey, Melanie," he said in this rough, tough manly voice, "How's it goin'?"

        "Real good," I replied, "what you been up to?"

        "Tryin' to fix my car. Told my dad I'd rather try to free hand it than take it to a DX. I've always wanted to be a mechanic, so I figure this'll be a learning experience." 

        He suddenly grinned at me, staring at my front. "What is this, a wet T-shirt contest? Babe, you got my vote."

        I don't think tomatoes could rival the color that instantly made up my face. I covered the side of my face with my hands, embarrassed, rubbing my forehead. "Oh… haha… my friend pulled me into the fountain," I said meekly.

        "So wait," I suddenly said, "what makes you drive all the way here?" A Soc in greaser territory?

        "You," he answered, slipping an arm around my waist and leaning down towards me.

        "Nate, I'm with-" I was cut off with his lips. I hurriedly pushed him away, embarrassed and afraid. "Nate, I'm sorry. Look, I've got a boyfriend." These words surprised me, and it didn't sound… sincere. Was Two-Bit my boyfriend? I didn't know, it sounded weird referring him to that.

        Nate raised his eyebrows. "What, okay, since we couldn't be together, right away you decided to find somebody new? We were just kissing in my car YESTERDAY, and now you have a boyfriend? Do you know what that seems like?"

        I winced, realizing what it sounded like. But it was different, if he only knew everything. "No, but Nate, you don't understand-"

        "No I understand fine. You just want some, don't you? Fucking around, that's what you're doing," he retorted angrily, throwing open the door to his dad's pick up.

        "NATE!" I screamed, but when he ignored me I kicked the door, making a dent.

        He immediately ran out of the car and shoved my shoulder. "What the fuck are you doing?"

        "Nate, would you just listen to me?" I pleaded, "It's not what you think at all! You DON'T understand!"

        He was furious. His face had a tint of red added to his normally medium skin, and his beautiful royal blue eyes turned a course in coldness. He formed a fist and punched a nearby tree. "You know what, I can't talk to you right now," he finally said, trying his best to control his temper, "I'll talk to you later Melanie." And without another final word he hopped into his truck and sped off.

        I closed my eyes and tapped my forehead with my palm. God, what the fuck is going on with my life nowadays? Drama, drama, drama.

        Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. What I thought would be over for a while had only just begun.

        Two-Bit was staring at me with an unreadable expression. "So," he said, as I walked up, "what did you have to say to Mr. Super Soc?"

        I opened my mouth to speak, but Two-Bit added to his question. "Ya did more than talkin', I noticed."

        "Two-Bit-" I started, but was cut off a second time.

        "What, you havin' flings with Socs? How long has this been goin' on for?"

        Emma and Ponyboy had now turned their attention to us. Emma looked fearful and Ponyboy looked full of pity. 

        "Two-Bit, I have not been having 'flings' with Socs. I know him from school and we're friends, that's it!"

        He raised his eyebrows, but he still wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the place where I had been moments earlier, talking to Nate. I assumed he was thinking hard about what just happened.  
        "You know," he said quietly, "I wondered how long it would last."

        "What?"

        "You and me. I wondered how long it would take.

        "What?!" I repeated, close to tears. He wasn't breaking up, he loved me, and he wanted to stay with me. 

        "Oh fuck Melanie," he spat out, finally turning his eyes towards me. I nearly burst out into tears right then because of a number of things. For one, Two-Bit hardly said the 'f-word,' only when he was truly mad or upset. Second, his eyes… God, I was so scared. They were full of anger, hate, sadness and despair. I could feel the tears overwhelming my eyelids, ready to spill.

        "You know just about every fucking guy who knows who you are wants you. I just wondered how long it would take for you to figure that out and start going after more and more people."

        "Two-Bit," I choked out, "I ain't some fucking whore!"

        He looked at me sadly. "I know, Mel… It's just, God, I don't know. I love you. I want you. I want you all to myself. I don't want any other girl, I've never wanted any other girl like I've wanted you."

        "What are you saying then?" I asked, holding back my sobs while rivers of tears made permanent placements on my cheeks, "what's going to happen?"

        He turned away from me and began studying the ground. He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. He rubbed top of his nose, the space in between they eyes, and I knew he was having trouble deciding what to do… which could only mean one thing…

        "Oh God Two-Bit," I cried, letting loose the sobs and tears fully now, letting go of control, "Please, I love you too, please, don't, I love you!"

        Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ponyboy gently grasp Emma's arm and pull her away from us. I made a mental note to thank him afterwards.

        "Maybe if I explained it to you Two-Bit," I offered, staring at him with blood-shot eyes.

        "Do you know what it feels like," he spoke so quietly it was barely audible, "to watch the person you're totally in love with kiss someone else? I," he faltered his words and took a deep breath. "To watch you over there. With the Soc. Watching him kiss you. I felt, I don't know, betrayed. It's like my whole world feel down and crashed on me. Do you know what that fucking feels like?"

        I shut my eyes tightly and nodded, my shoulders heaving. "Yes," I choked out, "I do."

        His face whirled around so fast to face me just then. He stared at me incredulously for a moment before asking who I was talking about.

        "You and Cathy," I answered, staring at the freshly grown grass beneath my feet, afraid of his response.

        As one last tear escaped my eye and traveled down my cheek, I could hardly breathe when I felt Two-Bit brush it away lightly with his finger. He stood up heavily and I followed suit; he gently placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him.

        "Melanie," he started, but I cut him off.

        "Two-Bit, please don't leave me," I sobbed, staring into his eyes that were now reasonably gentler, "please, don't leave me."

        He smiled softly at me and repeated, "Melanie. I've told you once, I've told you twice. _I won't ever leave you. No matter what._"

'_Shhh… Mel it's okay… I'm here, I won't ever leave you. Ever. No matter how much you want me to leave, I will always be here for you, doll.'_

That's what he had said to me after my encounter with my parents that night before I slept at his house. As I remembered, a gargantuan wave of happiness and relief swept over and hit me so hard I felt my knees buckle.

"Two-Bit, I'm so sorry. I love you," I cried, wanting him to hold me. 

As though he had read my mind, he enveloped me in his arms. "Melanie baby, I love you too. More than you'll ever know, doll. It's okay, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have jumped on your back like that, I should have trusted you. I was just so afraid of losing you," he pulled me tighter against his chest and I snuggled against him.

"So we're okay now right?" he asked, kissing my head.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," I sighed against his shirt.

"So, can I get any tonight?" he asked so abruptly and bluntly I gasped and started laughing, pulling away from him and stumbling back a couple steps.

"Two-Bit!" I giggled, but didn't refuse.

He came closer to me and whispered in my ear, "Come on babe. Mom's working the night shift today which means Stacey'll be at that Day Care place,"

"So it'll be just us two huh?" I asked, walking towards Two-Bit's house with Two-Bit's chest permanently attached to my back, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.

"Yeah," was his husky reply, and we sauntered off to his house for a night full of fun, forgiveness and another word that starts with the same letter.

DrunkOffOfSoda – I JUST GOT YOUR SECOND REVIEW! Oh gosh that is so nice of you! Thank you so much! lol your review put a smile on my face hehe ;D thank you so much for the tip, I thought I DID accept anonymous reviewers but I didn't! lol! thank you! Haha! You totally made my day! ;D


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed, Mr. LeBeau, and I 'borrowed' Emma. Hahahaha.

Thanks MissLKid! Yeah, Two-Bit's such a sweetie… hopefully no one threatens they're relationship… ;D

DrunkOffOfSoda!! LOL I AM SO PLEASED YOU LAUGH AT MY JOKES ;D… or rather, TWO-BIT'S jokes hehehe! No worries, most of us over here are Outsiders Obsessed ;D Aww Thank you so much! I'm so honored I'm actually on some favorite stories lists and favorite authors.. that means a lot to me guys! I totally love you! LOL I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS KEEP THEM COMING, YOU AND CRIMSON ARE DEFINITLY MY FAVORITE PEOPLE HAHA =)

Thanks DallysGirl4Life! I'm finally writing like everyday now haha

CrazeLilDreamer!! Thank you so much! LOL I WAS QUITE HAPPY WITH MYSELF FOR THINKING THAT UP ;D I am updating RIGHT NOW, I hope you guys like this one too!   
  
  
I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

!~*Chapter Six*~!

      I woke up, still undressed, in Two-Bit's bed. I sat, bringing up his sheets to cover myself and I rubbed my left eye with the back of my right hand. I glanced over at Two-Bit, sleeping peacefully with his arm draped over my hips and grinned. _Last night was awesome!_ I giggled to myself, and modestly straightened up. I hurriedly put on a fresh outfit from the bag I had left in Two-Bit's car (I had brought it in his room after we arrived yesterday) and stuffed my other clothes in the bag. Tossing it into a corner, I silently crept back to Two-Bit's bedside and gazed lovingly at his sleeping face.  
      I softly snickered as I thought about what the gang would say. Dally would probably whistle and curtly ask Two-Bit how good I was, casting me a wink and an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. Steve would sigh a "Finally! Mel gets some!" and slump back into the couch grinning, while Soda would be a cross between shock and amusement. Pony and Johnny –I almost laughed out loud just thinking about them- I made a mental note to tell everyone when they weren't ingesting anything, because I had a hunch that they would spit it at the wall when they found out.

      As soon as my hilarity came, it left when I thought about Darry. Good old, fatherly Daryl- he'd probably wanna skin Two-Bit after learning exactly what we did. Maybe I shouldn't tell him, but then I thought, _Boy, I'd hate to _not _tell him and have him find then_.

      Two-Bit grumbled a bit in his sleep, interrupting my thoughts, and I gently traced a finger over his cheekbone and jaw line. He pursed his lips together to give my fingertip a gentle kiss, and slowly opened his eyes.  
      "God, Melanie, you give good sex," was the first thing he said.  
      I nearly shrieked, jumping up and blushing furiously. "TWO-BIT MATHEWS!" I cried, my voice cracking from the sheer volume change so early in the morning.

      He sat up as well, not as modestly as I had done. "What? It sure as hell is true, come on let's do it again!" he grinned and tensed up his shoulder as I slapped it with my hand.

      "You wish, buddy. We HAVE to go to school today," I nodded as he groaned and heaved himself off of his bed, looking for his underwear. "I know, I know, but we missed yesterday without an excuse."

      "Yeah, okay, we'll go," he grumbled, fumbling for his pants. He buckled his belt and cast me an arrogant smirk. "Bet you loved last night, didn't you?"

      I grinned and walked over to him, putting my arms around his neck. "Every minute, you pervert."

       He placed his hands gently on my hips and then kissed me roughly. "Do we have to go to school?" he finally moaned, moving to my neck.

      I laughed out loud and cried back, "Yes Two-Bit! We do! You used to love going to school, what's with the sudden change?"

      "I didn't have you always in my room _naked _before," he replied huskily.

      I grinned and pulled away, throwing him a shirt from his floor. "Put this on, and come on we're gonna be late!"

      I heard him grumble something like, " '_Come on! We're gonna be late!'  _Late my ass… see if I give a fucking shit… stupid school, who wants to sit in a damn classroom anyways…"

      I just snorted, walked through his house and hopped into his car, brushing my hair with my fingers. He revved up the engine and we practically flew to school.

      I didn't have much time to be social, with making up the work from yesterday I had missed and doing today's lesson. Ponyboy kept trying to get my attention in English class, but I had to ignore him to catch everything Mr. LeBeau was teaching. He finally gave up, hurling a crumpled up piece of paper at my head. I scolded, shot him a death look (which he responded with a 'playful' rude gesture –he later told me so-) and grabbed the paper from the floor. Once Mr. LeBeau's back was turned, (I sit in the front row) I opened up the note and read, 

" Melanie- I NEED TO TALK TO YOU AFTER CLASS. Lunch is next, maybe we can get Two-Bit to drive us to the Dairy Queen for a bite to eat. It's about EMMA!!!!!!! "

      I smiled at his note and gave him a thumbs up from behind my back. He gave a loud cough to signal he saw it, and I pocketed the note in my short jean shorts.  
      The bell rung quickly after that, and I hurriedly got my notebooks together and waited for Ponyboy to saunter his way over here.  
      He had a happy grin on his face as he started his story, "Well, after you and Two-Bit got in that fight, you know… Hey, are you two okay?" he suddenly frowned, remembering the situation yesterday.

      I grinned, thinking about yesterday and awkwardly stuttered, "Um, oh, that, uh, yeah! We're great… Better than okay! Hah!"

      He gave me a weird look and rolled his eyes, grinning afterwards. We continued walking, scoping the place for Two-Bit. "Well," he coughed, "that's good. Anyway, as I was saying, I took Emma back to my house where we could talk a bit more and we really got to know each other. Like, we're interested in the same stuff, she loves goin' to movies by her lonesome so she can get into them like I do! We agreed though," his smile grew wider, "that we'd go to movies together from now on so we can talk about it afterwards! Isn't that tuff?"

      I grinned and put my arm around his shoulders. "Aw, Pony, that's beyond tuff! I'm so happy for you two! You guys'll be great together!"

      He grinned up at me and sighed. "Yeah, I sure hope so. I hope we have what you an' Two-Bit have, ya know?"

      I stopped, and he walked right out from under my arm. He turned around, puzzled, and asked what was wrong.

      "Me and Two-Bit?" I asked, grinning.

      "Yeah! I mean, it's obvious you're crazy about him, and I know he really loves you, an'-"

      "Does he talk about me often?" I asked, pretending to be naïve.

      He threw his arms up in the air, careful not to send his schoolwork flying. "Oh, please! He talks about you more than he does Mickey Mouse!

      I giggled, my head banished into the clouds. "Pony?" I asked, "You promise not to tell somethin'?"

      Ponyboy looked at me skeptically, then nodded. "Yeah, sure Mel. What's on your mind?"

      "Umm…" I started to do some quick thinkin'; I mean how do you tell a fifteen year old ya just made love to someone? "Well, last night, me and Two-Bit, we… well, we went back to his place last night after we made up, and we kinda… well, we…"

      Ponyboy coughed so loud I thought he'd barf up his lungs. "YOU DIDN'T!" he hollered, bursting out laughing, "Aw, come on Mel! You didn't!"

      I giggled nervously and looked around. "Uh, well… Yeah, Pony, we did."

      He dropped his notebooks and covered his face in his hands. "I can never look at you and Two-Bit the same, I get this nasty visual…" he peered out at me from behind his fingers, then quickly shut them together. "Oh, GOD!"

      That made me laugh so hard I had to cross my legs to keep from vandalizing the school floor. "Come on, Pony!" I choked out, grabbing his stuff from the floor, "Let's go find Two-Bit!"

"TWO-BIT!" he yelled, "I CAN'T BE IN THE SAME CAR AS YOU TWO! 

I continued to laugh as we exited the school grounds and made our way over to the street. Our school grounds are different from most; you have to cross the street to get to the school parking lot. I made out Two-Bit's body leanin' against his car, in the parking lot parked closest to the street, waitin' for us. I grinned at him and Pony and I waved, and he sent one back at us. He beckoned for us to hurry up.

As Ponyboy and I walked over to the waving Two-Bit, I heard a familiar voice yell my name behind me. "Mellie! Mellie!" Two-Bit's younger sibling cried, "Look! I made this for you at school today!" She bounced over, twirling around in her pretty yellow sundress and handed me a painting of a pretty zoo with a lion and a giraffe in a cage. "See! Isn't it pretty?" she asked happily, getting on her tippy-toes to give me a hug. She told me that Mrs. Mathews dropped her off momentarily ago and told her to get a ride from Two-Bit home, because she needed to go back to work to cover someone else's shift.

To what happened next, there wasn't really any warning.

I didn't even hear the car engine flare up.

I couldn't even smell the horrible exhaust fuming from the car.

I couldn't even feel Stacey clench up and tighten her arms around my waist; I couldn't hear the small gasp of fear escape from her lips.

All I could do was stare at my mad and angry, crazed and vile stepfather behind the wheel of a pick-up truck, speeding towards us with no mercy.

My mouth opened at once and I just froze. A million thoughts were buzzing through my head moments ago, about Two-Bit, about Pony and Emma, about why Mrs. Mathews would just leave her young daughter at a high school alone, about whether the lion in the picture was really a lion or whether it was a tiger. Many, many things, and they just seemed to vanish from my head. I couldn't tell you what happened next, because I don't know. It had all happened so fast, I didn't realize what had happened until Pony explained it to me as I was lying on the side of the road.

He sniffed a couple times, tears streamin' down his face and his eyes were an awful shade of red. Like he lost a few nights sleep or somethin'. "Pony?" I mumbled, looking around, "what the hell happened?"

"It was Ed," he replied, his voice sounded awful funny. It was all raspy and deep. "He tried, he tried to r-run you over. He-he would have, I'm sure of it, if Two-Bit hadn't l-leaped in front of the car to push you away!"

Ohhhh man you guys must HATE me after I leave you like this… wow… I can't believe I'm being so CRUEL!! ;D well, send your reviews and I'll post up chapter seven hehehe!


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed, Mr. LeBeau, Lab Coat, and I 'borrowed' Emma.

*MissLKid - You'll find out exactly what happened in this chapter ;D hope I didn't scare you too much! hehe! 

*DreaminBoutDal - Thank you so much!! I hoped I do a good job with the characters ;D LOL I know, if Two-Bit died I think I might cry and cry and cry some more… Melanie was hurt a little, not a lot. She still functions correctly, she was hurled to the side of the road by Two-Bit, her knight in shining armor ;D

*CrazeLilDreamer – LOL I KNOW, sometimes I can be REALLY MEAN with these cliffhangers ;D hope you like this chapter!!!!  
*DrunkOffOfSoda – I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS! I do that all the time with my blasted ujournal… yeah that's besides the point, anyways, thank you once again for your cheerful reviews ;D  LOL YEAH HE GETS SOME AND THEN NOW THIS. No worries though, he wasn't hurt ;D aren't I so mean, planting false things in my readers' heads hehehe! I could never kill poor Two-Bit, and plus I need your reviews ;D LOVED YOUR REVIEW (as always) hope you enjoy this one!!!! ;D

*Ella28 – lol I'm so mean when it comes to suspense! ;D thank you so much!! I'm cooking up ways to turn up the drama and continue writing for Holly Carson, so expect new chapters relatively soon! ;D thank you so much for your support!!

*Megan – Thanks so much! it really means a lot to me when I have people comment me ;D lol I tried to make Two-Bit and Melanie's relationship as loving and caring as possible, but still humorous and flexible haha. (I don't really know what I just said... Oh well, lots of writers are kinda crazy =D)

*Hana Chino – LOL I know, I'm sorry! Hehe! This chapter will explain a lot, I don't leave off on much of a cliffhanger… hope you like!! ;D

*DallysGirl4Life – LOL LOL I know, I feel the same way ;D too bad some people can't live forever, he'd definitely be on my keep list ;D thanks so much for the review!! 

*Linda - *laughs evilly* I know, gosh I am so cruel ;D Thank you so much for the review!!

*Opal – LOL thank you very much for your review! I knew this cliffhanger would get a lot of protests ;D hehehe enjoy the next chapter!

!~*Chapter Seven*~!

        My face paled, I drew my hands to my mouth and my lungs involuntarily drew in a sharp breath that made me gasp out in sorrow. He dried his eyes with the back of his hand and tried to grin at me, but failed miserably. "T-Two-Bit ran as fast as he could," Ponyboy recollected as he tried to bore two holes into the side of the road with his eyes, "He ran, and he made it just in time to grab a h-hold of you. You both went tumbling to-to the street here; I think you might've hit your h-head or somethin' because you went unconscious for a couple minutes…" he trailed off and broke into sobs, placing his head in his hands, his body rocking back and forth. "H-He didn't even notice," he choked out, and I rubbed his back soothingly, "T-That his sister was right behind you! He didn't see her, he didn't see her, it was too late to go back t-to get her, he couldn't get her!" Ponyboy let out a wail as he remembered these painful memories.

        I covered my hand with my mouth and resisted the urge to throw up. I staggered to my feet and looked around. I saw Two-Bit kneeling over his sister, who was bleeding profusely, still in the middle of the street.

        My eyes widened with fright and I gently reached behind me and touched Ponyboy's shoulder, who was still rocking on the ground with his knees up to his chest. "Pony…"

        "He hit her real hard, Melanie," he sobbed, "She kinda went flyin' up in the air and settled back down real hard. I-I called the ambulance from inside th-the school, they're gonna come."

        Right on cue I heard wailing sirens and flashing blue and red lights. I glanced from the rescue vehicle to Two-Bit and back to the car, then started hobbling as fast as I could to Two-Bit.

        As soon as I reached them, I wanted to turn back and run as far away as I could from the scene. Stacey's arm was bent at a funny angle, reaching behind her and pointing up as if it was made of flexible rubber. Her abdomen was bleeding freely, and the paramedics discovered it as well as he covered the wound with a cloth and proceeded to wrap gauze around it, trying to pressure the bleeding into stopping. She couldn't stop crying, she was wailing in fear and pain and I just didn't want to bear this anymore.

        I let out a sob of despair, which I tried to muffle by clasping both of my hands to my mouth. I took a step back just as Two-Bit whirled around.

        I wish he hadn't.

        His kind, gentle eyes were overcome with sadness, regret, and sorrow. They were clouds of emotion swirling within his grey eyes, barely shadowing the hate and rage towards my stepfather.

        Once his eyes met mine, the hate and rage disappeared and tears welled up in his eyes. He grabbed my body and thrust it against his, choking out sobs that seeped into my shirt. I gently rubbed his head, ruffling his hair as his body rocked and rocked every time he howled with grief.  
        We all rode in the ambulance. Two-Bit, Ponyboy and I. Once we got to the hospital, we solemnly followed the doctors and nurses and paramedics pulling Stacey on a stretcher.  
        Tears stung my eyes and flowed freely down my cheeks again. It was like having to visit dying Johnny all over again, in this hellhole of a place. I hated the hospital, after what had happened to Johnny. Those stupid doctors they had workin' on him, they weren't professionals. They were stupid bastards that almost killed my best friend. God, we were even goin' the same way to Johnny's room.

        We passed another corridor and my fear tightened up my heart, making it difficult to breathe. When we reached room six twenty-two, I nearly had a heart attack. A fresh new set of tears streamed down Ponyboy's face and I knew he remembered it too.

        This was Johnny's old room.

        I don't reckon Two-Bit really noticed, he was too concerned with his sister to be. Some guy dressed in what looked like a light blue lab coat stayed behind as the others wheeled her in the room, and beckoned for us to follow him into the lobby. One of the personnel shut the door, and Two-Bit glared at the lab-coat man in fury.

        "THAT'S MY SISTER IN THERE!" he bellowed, pointing to the room with fireworks goin' off in his eyes, "I WANNA FUCKIN SEE HER!"

        Lab Coat sighed understandingly, which made me trust him. "I know you do, Mr. Mathews, but right now the doctors have to concentrate all their energy on fixin' up your sister. I reckon you'd want that, no?"

        Two-Bit closed his eyes and bit his lip so hard I thought it was gonna pop like a balloon. Ponyboy was deathly white, and I quickly reached over and held him in my arms. He buried his face in my chest and tried not to sob.

        "Alright," Two-Bit said, his eyes turning a little watery, "But as soon as y'all allow visitors I'm in there, okay?"

        Lab Coat smiled and reassuringly said, "I'll send for you myself."

        Two-Bit gave him a weak smile and grabbed for my hand, leadin' me and Pony to the waiting' room.  
        We sat down on the long couch, the three of us, and tried to piece together what had just happened. "Man," Two-Bit said, trying to throw us all one of his crazy grins, "I haven't cried longer than I can remember."

        I kissed him on the cheek and laid against him. "She's gonna be okay, Two-Bit, I know she will be. Your sister is one strong chick and you know that."

        He softly chuckled and tangled his fingers in my hair.

        Ponyboy sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Hey y'all, I'm gonna go call Darry. I'll be right back."

        Two-Bit and I nodded at his retreating form.

        Turns out, Pony got a hold of more than just Darry. Within ten minutes, the whole gang was here.

        Johnny looked real edgy, he had that scared puppy dog look back as his eyes darted from hospital room to hospital room.

        Dally was tryin' to look concerned, but we all knew he was only here to try and console Two-Bit. Part of me thinks he never knew Two-Bit had a sister.  
        Darry, Steve and Soda were very grave, talking quietly to Two-Bit on the couch. I had gotten up to make room for them and went to sit on the floor by Dally's legs, who was sitting on one of the chairs.

        He flirtingly opened his legs and clenched his knees against my head. I grabbed them and pushed them apart, letting out a small laugh. I grinned up at Dally and he just winked.

        Suddenly the room just became cold as ice. I shivered, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. Lab Coat slowly entered the room and Two-Bit and I jumped up earnestly.

        He had a grim look on his face, and his eyes begged to avoid contact with ours.

        "Mathews family?" he cautiously questioned, and when we all gave him our undivided attention he cleared his throat and clutched his clipboard. "I have good and bad news…"

        I pursed my lips together tightly to keep the tears from spilling. He continued, "It seems as if… Stacey Mathews has entered a coma."

        My hands rushed to my head as I started to feel dizzy. The room became blurred, and there were two of everybody.

        "It's hard to tell how deep this coma truly is, so it may be that she wakes up in a few days. However… we do not know."

        He left after expressing his sorrow and remorse, and I just lost it. Two-Bit was trying so hard not to cry in front of the gang, God I could just tell this was tearing him apart.

"It's all my fault!" I suddenly screamed, tears of salty disgust running my cheeks ragged, "I'm the cause of all this misery! This shouldn't be fucking happening to you all!" _It should have been me in front of that car, _I thought angrily, hating everything about myself, _it should have been me…_ I staggered backwards, only to have my back hit the wall with a smack, and I sunk down to my knees in agony. I didn't want this, this wasn't happening. 

I tried to lift my head up to stare at the lot of them, but my neck muscles felt as though they had been ripped out, along with every other feature in my body. I felt utterly torn apart. "I didn't mean for this to happen," I choked out the raggedy whispers, my head hanging limply at its side and my shoulders heaving from sobs of despair, "God, why does this have to happen? It should have been me…" I trailed off weeping, with my head in my hands.

A/N: That was a really emotional chapter ;( but I thought this story needed some MAJOR drama… all stories need major drama… I hope no one hates me! And I could NEVER kill Two-Bit… he's too dern sexy!! ;D I have a few more twists and turns up my sleeve… this is going to turn out to be an interesting story…;D hope you like!  
  
A/N: Sorry, it seems as if these chapters are getting shorter. Hmmm. Oh well, that means I just update more often ;D


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: I only own Melanie, her parents, Nate, Stacey's personality, Emma's mom, Ed, Mr. LeBeau, Lab Coat, Annie and I 'borrowed' Emma.

Oohhh guys!!! Words could not express how much I appreciate you and ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU TO DEATH!!!!

GUESS WHO'S BACK!!

I really apologize for holding you all up like I did. I'd like to say that I was busy with the story all this time, frantically putting together all the chapters and tying up all the loose odds and ends, but that wouldn't be the truth.

I WAS LAZY AND HAD WRITERS BLOCK.

But now I am hoisting myself off my ass and starting to write again. SO LOOK FOR MY NEW CHAPTERS!!!

Okay, enough babble, I'm going to start re-reading my stories and getting a feel for what I should do next. I'll start giving thanks to all my readers and reviewers before the next chapter, so don't think I'm ignoring you :) I love you guys, and thank you for the endless support!

3 BleuCade

!Chapter Eight!

          I abruptly woke up as a bright, white light shone though my eyelids, stirring up my retinas. I bolted up, knocking my head on the light that was shining on me and cursed loudly.        

          Rubbing my head, I squinted at the people crowded around me. "Where the fuck am I?" I mumbled.

          "You passed out," I heard Steve say bluntly. I shot open my eyes to look at him, sitting on a chair in a corner of the hospital room.

          Glancing around me, I cautiously asked, "Am I okay?"

          Lab Coat was here too. "Yes, Melanie, I assure that you are quite well. You must have passed out from the sheer shock, and was overwhelmed with what all had happened in such a short period of time."

          I nodded, and remembering what had made me pass out, I slumped my shoulders and slowly collapsed back into the hospital bed.

          Steve gave Lab Coat a look, and Lab Coat cleared his throat. "Well, now that you're all right, I think I'll go check on some other patients."

          Steve shot him a small grin and as Lab Coat left, he shut the door behind him and walked over to me.

          He sat on the side of my bed and touched my hair, near the side of my head.

          "I feel like I could die," I blurted out miserably.

          "I think we all feel like that," he replied softly.

          "Yeah, but you aren't the cause-"

          "Melanie," he interrupted sharply, "don't. Just don't. Stop blaming yourself, it's not doing any good."

          I closed my eyes. "But it is! I was the reason Two-Bit didn't see his sister, and it was MY stepfa-"

          I froze, with my mouth still trying to make out the rest of the word.

          "What?" Steve asked me, puzzled.

          "Where is my stepfather?" I asked quietly.

          Steve looked at me, incredulous. He opened his mouth, and then stopped to ponder, and shut it again. He suddenly bolted up from beside me and ran out the door.

          _Please, God, if you can hear me… Stacey's such a wonderful little girl, _I silently prayed, tears flowing freely down my cheeks, _Please save her…_

          Steve came rushing back in the hospital room with Ponyboy in tow. I licked my lips nervously as Pony came to a halt beside my bed, grasping the mattress with his hands and leaning against his arms for support.

          "Melanie," he breathed heavily, "I didn't even think about it, I'm so stupid, I didn't even think about him, all I could think about was waking you up and not looking at… at her… in the road…"

          He shook his head vigorously and straightened up. He glanced at Steve for a fleeting second, and then continued, "He just drove off, he just drove the hell off and didn't even come out and see if she was okay… he just… he just hit her and drove off…"

          Steve was fuming. "That fuckin' piece of stupid ass probably just retreated to his forsaken house," he cursed irately, "I swear to God that mother fucker better have the fuckin' navy over there protectin' his ass…"

          I swallowed hard. "How's Two-Bit doin'?" I croaked, not recognizing the sound of my own voice.

          Steve's façade slowly drained and his gaze lowered to the floor. "He started drinkin' in the lobby. Darry tried tellin' him that he shouldn't right now, but he flipped out on him so Darry backed off. I'd just let him alone for a while, Mel, just let him drink some and calm himself down."

          I stared at Steve. "But what if he drinks too much? What if he passes out or somethin'? And where the hell did he get liquor?"

          Steve gave me a weak smirk. "Well, if he does pass out, we ARE in the hospital. He got the booze from Dally, he was hangin' out at Bucks before we got him."

          I sighed and brushed my hair back with my fingers. "I need a shower," I mumbled.

          "You can go take one really fast," Pony offered, "they got showers here."

          I grimaced, and automatically worried about sanitation but then internally laughed at myself, realizing that it was a HOSPITAL so of course it was sanitary.

          "Alright, I'm gonna go. I'll be back in fifteen minutes, okay?"

          I slowly got up and they walked out with me. We turned our separate ways, them going to the lobby with the others, and me turning down towards the main office.

          There was a lady sittin' behind the desk, shuffling through files and shaking her head back and forth. The nametag pinned on her white nurses outfit read, 'Annie.'

          "Hello, excuse me," I politely interrupted, "Hi, I'm Melanie Richards-"

          She smiled at me. "Hey sweetie, you're the one who passed out in the lobby?"

          I gave a small embarrassed smile and nodded. "Yes, I was wondering if there was somewhere where I could freshen up, maybe take a shower if I was able to?"

          Her smile never faltered as she stood up and guided me to the staff bathroom. "Now, we don't usually let patients use this, but you've had a rough day. Go ahead in here and do what you need to, there's toiletries in there already."

          "Thank you so much, this is wonderful!"

          I closed the door behind me and looked at myself in the mirror.

          My gorgeous golden brown hair was tangled and notty and looked as if it hadn't seen a brush in days. My usually fair green eyes were dark and brooding with an unusual melancholy and I almost cried out from how painful I looked.

          I shook my head with a knot forming in my throat and I vowed that this shower would wash away my sorrow. I quickly undressed and threw my clothes off to one side, started up a hot shower and stepped in.

          The water pummeled my face drop after drop and I felt myself letting go. There was too much to think about, right now I would just relax…

          I just stood there in the shower for God knows how long when there was a knock on the door. I snapped back to reality and yelped, "Who's there?"

          "It's Soda," a voice was heard from behind the door, "I went back to Two-Bit's and got some clothes for you. I hope you don't mind me looking through your underwear, I mean its not like I really care because you're like my sister-"

          I laughed. I loved Soda so much; he could always bring a smile to my face.

          "Sodapop, I don't know what I would do without you. Come in, it's unlocked, I couldn't figure out how to lock it anyways."

          I heard the door open and Soda's shady outline appear from outside the shower curtain. As he set my clothes down on the sink, he said, "I'm just gonna set these on the sink okay?"

          I smiled and thanked him again, and he left. I quickly washed myself with soap and my hair with the tiny bottles sitting on the edges of the tub and cautiously got out. I snagged one of two towels hanging near the shower and wrapped up my hair, then took the other one and started drying myself off.

          After I finished putting the clean clothes on (short jean shorts and a regular black t-shirt) I dried my hair manually with a towel as much as I could, then just scrunched it up with my hands and decided to let it air dry. This wasn't the time to worry about my hair anyways.

          I walked toward the lobby, giving Annie a smile and gratitude, and found the gang all sitting there. Two-Bit was sitting at the farthest chair, nursing a bottle of some kind of hard liquor. He was staring off into space and I don't think he could have looked any worse.

          I saw a flash of white out of the corner of my eye and immediately turned to it. Lab Coat was standing there, rummaging through sheets of paper on his clipboard, and when he sensed he had everyone's attention he looked up… and… _smiled._

          "I have excellent news," he grinned boldly, "Stacey's come out of her coma and with our help here at the hospital, she is expected to make a full recovery!"


	9. Special Thanks

Secret Storywriter :

I LOVED all of your comments, they made me remember why I loved to write. I started this story five years ago in 2003, when I was 14 (I'm 19 now) and my Outsiders passion practically seeped out my pores. I loved this book so much I just HAD to start writing about it. Obviously things happened between my five year hiatus and I stopped writing. I would occasionally look over my already written chapters but I just never continued. Most of my stories included an extra girl character after wishing that I could be included in The Outsider life. But I have a certain fondness for Melanie Richards, I really liked how the first couple chapters came out. I'm really glad you liked it too, and I liked the parts you pointed out to me that you liked, because those were some of the same parts I felt proud of thinking up and including. The fact that you left me such a long review was so wonderful!! Thank you so much. So I know how you said that you would love to give your advice and suggestions, would you mind continuing to read my story and tell me what you think of the last chapter? I'm so out of practice and I just wrote that at 2 in the morning last night and I think I really need some feedback haha. I'm going to start drafting an outline of the rest of the story and see where it takes me :)

So that was my original review as I posted it, but as it turns out, when I opened up Melanie Richards on my computer, I had written more than I posted on here! So when I finally upload it, you are more than welcome to critique :)


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: okay so this was on my computer when I checked it. A little short, but I suppose anything is better than nothing after such a long time! And I just wanted to thank all of you guys who replied since I last updated, you guys are so amazing!! Thanks for your support, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**!Chapter Nine!**

**Tears ran down my face and I smiled so big I don't know how my face could contain it. I glanced around at the gang, and they were all yellin' and whoopin' for joy, and then my gaze lingered on Two-Bit.**

**The bottle of liquor remained ignored on its side on the floor (he must have consumed the rest because nothing was leaking) and Two-Bit was staring at Lab Coat as if he'd grown an extra limb.**

**"My… my sister's okay?" he croaked.**

**Lab Coat turned to him and gave him a reassuring smile. "Yes, Mr. Mathews, and you can talk to her if you'd like."**

**He swallowed hard, glanced at me and a slow smile formed on his face. I smiled back, delighted that his rough, battered expression was diminishing.**

**"Alright," he said, nodding, "I'm gonna go see her."**

**He walked past Lab Coat towards the direction of Stacey's room, and Ponyboy grinned at me. "God," he sighed, "that was a close call…"**

**I smiled and ruffled his hair.**

**"Melanie! Ponyboy!" I heard a voice yell from behind us, and turned.**

**Emma was running toward us. "Hey," she breathed, "I had just gotten home from school when I saw Soda comin' out of his house, and he told me all about Stacey and what happened," she threw me a look of pity and continued, "I came here as quick as I could, is everything alright?"**

**"Shit," Pony answered, "that's right, we missed all our afternoon classes."**

**I shrugged. "I didn't have anythin' special, I don't care. Besides, they can't penalize us for missin' considering everything that happened, you know?"**

**"Yeah," Pony agreed, "but we got some asshole teachers…"**

**I shrugged it off and waved his sentence off with a flick of my hand. "Don't even worry about it Pony, if they give ya a hard time I'm sure Dally'll pop 'em a couple good ones."**

**Pony finally cracked a grin and I ruffled his hair. He turned suddenly to Emma, almost as if he forgot she was there. It made me smile; they were so cute.**

**"Oh, uh, yeah," he stammered, then stood up straighter and puffed up his chest so discretely I bet I was the only one that noticed, "we're okay, I almost got hit by Ed but I'm fine… Stacey though got it full on, it was so horrible…"**

**I turned my head as Pony began explaining to Emma exactly how he remembered it, and I heard her gasping and saying things like, "oh dear Lord!" and "Gosh, Pony, you're so brave!" and I made a mental note to tease him about it later.**

**Suddenly Two-Bit's frantic mother burst into the room. "Where's my baby!" she wailed, and I rushed instantly to her side.**

**"Oh, Mrs. Mathews," I tried to calm her down with a hug and she gratefully obliged, "Stacey's doing great! She was in a coma-"**

**"A COMA!?" she exclaimed, and I feared she may have fainted if I hadn't interrupted her back.**

**"-But she got out! She's expected a full recovery!"**

**I don't think I've seen someone so relieved in my entire life. She relaxed at once, cleared her throat and smiled. "Where is she?"**

**"She's right this way, they allowed her visitors finally. Here, Two-Bit's in there already," and I told her the room number and just where to find it.**

**Steve came walkin' back from the room. Since I hadn't seen him leave, I went up to him and asked him where he was. "I was talking to Stacey's doctor, I mean isn't it kinda weird that one minute he was very skeptical about her recovery, and then the next thing ya know he's comin' in here, tellin' us that she's gonna be just fine?"**

**I frowned. It hadn't even occurred to me. "How strange," I replied back, incredulous, "What did he say?"**

**Steve ran his hand through his hair and looked at me. "He was as disbelieving as any of us, he said it must have been a miracle. We all witnessed a goddamn miracle, how about that?"**

**I slowly nodded, smiling. A real miracle, happenin' to us. Greasers.**


End file.
